By Terry Perkins June 19, 2002

There's something about music festivals -- at least those with an admission price -- that just doesn't seem to go down well with St. Louis audiences. The St. Louis Blues & Heritage Festival, which put together some great lineups of talent from 1993-97, is defunct, having been replaced by the free Big Muddy Blues & Roots Fest on Laclede's Landing. Some may argue that the blues and heritage fest shot itself in the foot with its disastrous move to suburban Buder Park in 1997. But the fact remains that the event had outgrown the Landing; and many Landing merchants helped push it away, preferring the smaller scope of the free Big Muddy event, which allowed them to boost food and drink sales at their own establishments rather than within an... More >>>